The Lagos State government has issued a seven-day notice to communities with unapproved street gates to either leave such gates open between 05:00am and 11:59pm or have them dismantled.
The state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, who issued the notice, explained that the gates and structures installed without approval from his ministry contravened the provisions of the state’s traffic laws and regulations.
Dr. Oladeinde said the ministry, in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, had the regulatory authority on the installation of gates towards enhancing traffic management on the inner roads while protecting the lives and property of the affected communities.
He explained that, “During the recent inspection exercise conducted by the officials of the Ministry of Transportation, it was discovered that some communities have sited gates on some inner roads to avoid vehicular movement on their streets. This unruly act has contributed to the heavy traffic currently being experienced on our roads daily.
“While it is expected that all street gates across the state be opened between 05:00am and 11:59, the gates must be manned by security personnel engaged by the community or residents’ associations and must be opened for emergency services at any time.”
The commissioner added that a special committee set up by the transportation ministry on demolition of gated streets had begun enforcement exercise in locations that failed to comply with the government’s directive on the “gated streets” regulation.
He therefore, urged communities with government approval for installation of gates on their streets to come forward with their documents for onward review and necessary approvals, saying, failure to do so would leave the special committee no choice but to remove such gates.
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